Ovechkin in Moscow with GQ

When you see the sort of photos that emerge from Alex Ovechkin's offseason, you have a pretty good idea what goes on. Still, GQ decided to leave a little less to our imagination, sending a reporter out on the town with Ovechkin at one of his "main hunting grounds," as the magazine puts it in its most recent issue.

The final scene -- after hundreds of words about Ovechkin and the young women of Moscow -- takes place in a skating rink, where Ovi brings two women, "Lera and Olesya, that he's picked up at [a club called] Soho Rooms." I'll excerpt the author, Michael Idov:

They're dressed like snow bunnies and have clearly had at least some skating classes between them. A stray thought visits me that Ovie has brought one of them to keep me company, but before I can figure out which one, it becomes rather obvious he's planning to keep both...[He] takes turns making out with Lera while Olesya documents the proceedings and making out with Olesya while Lera does the documenting. While the calves and the lamb cavort, I hug the boards for an hour and a half. The girls giggle. The whole tableau is a high school nightmare come to life.

On the one hand, it's exactly what you imagine Alex Ovechkin doing at a Moscow skating rink in the offseason. On the other hand, what would be the reaction if, say, Clinton Portis brought two women he met at a D.C. club to an interview with a national writer at a football field, and then took turns making out with them?

A sizable chunk of the story focused on Ovechkin on the hunt, with Idov writing that one night, "each time he sees a pretty girl walking by, Ovechkin shouts 'BOOM!' at the top of his lungs." Reliable Source quotes the passage where Ovechkin compares American and Russian women, and RMNB quotes the passage where Ovechkin offers advice on picking up women, whom he refers to with a Russian term that "falls somewhere between 'chicks' and 'b--ches," according to GQ. Then there's the part where he tells the reporter how he would take his ex-girlfriend "up to those sofas" in a Moscow club.

(There were also stray shots fired at D.C. hockey fans, with Idov calling them "fairweather, for sure" and writing that "D.C. loves Ovie with the hysterical ardor of a rescued damsel" and that "if you live in D.C., Ovechkin is hockey."

Sounds like the "LeBron James is a tool in the club" ESPN column that officially never happened. If you're single, sometimes you're a tool. If you're single and rich, well maybe that makes you a worse tool. There's nothing too surprising about that.

OV- just take your job seriously, and be a winner; remember you're paid big bucks to play at your best.In the offseason, I hope ur working out, as much as ur making out. You can be known as a winner, get better as a hockey player; just don't get sidetracked by bimbos.

Now that I have read the article, it's not a hatchet job. Ovi should have been more cautious but it's a hard life when you cannot have one unguarded moment unless you are with your family or close friends. Proves the wisdom of Semin in keeping a very low profile and almost never speaking to the press.

"Ovi should have been more cautious but it's a hard life when you cannot have one unguarded moment unless you are with your family or close friends. Proves the wisdom of Semin in keeping a very low profile and almost never speaking to the press."

See, this is exactly where you are wrong. I think Ovi is smarter than we give him credit for. Sure, a lot of athletes choose to keep a low profile because they cannot perform when they are the focus of the spotlight or they are just simply afraid of being burned by the media. Ovechkin is an exception to the rule and that is exactly why he is so likable. He says what's on his mind and when he doesn't have obligations to his jobs, he does what he wants. He has no regard for the "social norms" that many athletes follow so strictly when they are around the media and for that reason alone, he is a far more interesting character than most athletes. I find the genuineness of his character to be very refreshing in contrast to the many athletes who (rightfully so) hide from the media behind a fortress of cliche responses and PR sanctioned actions. Ovi seems unafraid (see: does not care) of what the media has to say about him and that is awesome!

Why are we chastising the guy for being himself? Wouldn't we all agree that Gilbert Arenas and Clinton Portis were far more entertaining sports figures when they were themselves in front of the media before they went into their shells? If the guy is doing his job, then no one has the right to question their off season activities. First and foremost, sports are a form of entertainment. If a sport isn't entertaining, no one plays it professionally, no one writes about it, and no one cares. These professional athletes are entertainers. They might be paid to be entertainers on the ice/field/court, but that doesn't mean they can't entertain us with stories of their personal lives. Ovechkin lives an entertaining life - a life many of us would never pass up if given the opportunity to live for ourselves.

"Tales of Ovechkin's childhood brim with prophetic apocrypha: When he was 2, he grabbed a toy hockey stick at a store and wouldn't let go; at 5, he glimpsed a Dynamo game on TV and cried until Dad switched the channel back; at 10, he hit a goalpost so hard the puck broke in half. (His coach kept the halves as a kind of religious arti-fact.)"

c'mon ovie, grow up and be smart. or you'll end up with nothing i just hope it's not too late to realize this early. i think you have a wrong notion of having fan. well, that's probably why you're playing poorly, you do those things in russia that's making you feel like a king. i'm disappointed.

poguesmahone: what I have trouble understanding is how any of Ovi's off-ice actions equate to not winning the Cup. There is absolutely no evidence that Ovechkin acting like Ovechkin means he cannot win a Stanley Cup. If anything, you could say that what Ovi does off the ice has made the Capitals a Stanley Cup favorite. He has done everything that could possibly be asked of him every year he's been in the NHL. He even takes the blame when the rest of his team disappears in the playoffs. The guy might act irresponsible on his own time, but when it comes to hockey, Ovi knows the buck stops with him and he's not afraid to be that guy. For that alone, he deserves respect.

Ovi didn't magically become a superstar and decided he doesn't have to work anymore. The guy is a freaking work horse. He dedicates 8-9 months of his life to being the best player he can possibly be. What he does in those other 15 weeks has absolutely no relevance to how the Capitals, as a team, play. None.

A lot of people disagree with his lifestyle (or they are jealous), but we all know from personal experience that loosening up, relaxing, and being yourself on your vacation does NOT mean you will be any less capable of doing your job when you go back to work. Why is this different with athletes? As long as they are taking care of their bodies and not committing felonies, I say do what any other famous 20-something millionaire would do. Have fun, enjoy life, be thankful for your talent, and dedicate yourself to your goals when it's time to work. When Ovi stops being the best hockey player in the world, then maybe we can bring into question his off-season habits.

"Once he gets married, if he ever does, there will be never-ending speculation about whether he's pulling a Tiger Woods behind his wife's back."

Or you could just call it "pulling a 'Professional Athlete'". I know there are definitely athletes out there who do honor the bond of marriage (and props to them), but I'd be surprised if a majority of married athletes have never cheated on their spouses.

"Once he gets married, if he ever does . . ." Sheesh. He'd be an idiot to get married. He's taking home two women at a time, and not just "making out" with them either. He's having good sex, unlke most men single or married. Marriage would destroy his life, like it does most men's. Recnet studies revealed that 60% of men have the type of genes that prevent happiness within monotonous monogamy. He can have children without marriage and they will be better-adjusted and happier than most children of miserable marriages. Wake the fark up, Romeo, and smell the 21st Century. Marriage is dying out, and good riddance to it.

"Once he gets married, if he ever does . . ." Sheesh. He'd be an idiot to get married. He's taking home two women at a time, and not just "making out" with them either. He's having good sex, unlke most men single or married. Marriage would destroy his life, like it does most men's. Recnet studies revealed that 60% of men have the type of genes that prevent happiness within monotonous monogamy. He can have children without marriage and they will be better-adjusted and happier than most children of miserable marriages. Wake the fark up, Romeo, and smell the 21st Century. Marriage is dying out, and good riddance to it.

I can't tell if you're being funny or serious. But if you're referencing real journal articles, I'd like to see them first.

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